yoga cobra pose

As long as your spine is flexible, you are young and healthy! Remember this every time you are lazy to do yoga. The second thing that should immediately come to mind is the cobra pose! It works great with the back … and not only. We study the benefits of asana, contraindications and technique.

Bhujangasana is the yoga pose of the cobra. An excellent tool for the flexibility and health of your spine. Not everyone will master it at once, it’s true. But daily practice can work wonders!

This is especially helpful for older people. Some suffer from radiculitis, smear “fiery” ointments on their lumbosacral region. Others stoop and cannot straighten their backs (yes, young people sin with this!). They think it will be like this forever. But after all, water does not flow under a lying stone! Start doing at least 1 minute a day of Cobra Pose. And to achieve a therapeutic effect: always under the supervision of an experienced instructor or doctor.

The benefits of exercise

So, as you already understood, the cobra pose develops the flexibility of the spine, restores its health. What else is important to know about the beneficial properties of asana:

• Strengthens the deep muscles of the back, as well as the muscles of the buttocks and arms
• Improves posture (goodbye slouching!)
• Useful for chest muscles, asana straightens the chest
• Stimulates the work of the kidneys and adrenal glands (they get a good massage)
• It has a beneficial effect on potency in men and the condition of the pelvic organs in women
• Strengthens abdominal muscles
• Normalizes the functioning of the thyroid gland
• Helps relieve general fatigue, give a surge of strength (therefore, it is not recommended to perform it before bedtime)
• The cobra pose works great for stress as it increases testosterone, the pleasure hormone.

Exercise harm

The cobra pose has many contraindications, be very careful:

• pregnancy more than 8 weeks;
• menstruation;
• increased blood pressure (those who suffer from high blood pressure need to reduce or completely eliminate the deflection of the cervical spine);
• hyperfunction of the thyroid gland (with this disease, you can’t throw your head back – if you do asana, then only with your chin pressed to your chest);
• infringement and displacement of intervertebral discs;
• hernia;
• pathological lordosis (this is the bend of the spine in the cervical and lumbar regions, facing forward with a bulge);
• lumbago;
• diseases of the internal organs of the abdominal cavity in the acute stage;
• acute stages of radiculitis.

ATTENTION! For all spinal disorders, the cobra pose must be performed very carefully and under the guidance of an experienced instructor.

How to do the cobra pose

ATTENTION! The description of the exercise is given for a healthy person. It is better to start a lesson with an instructor who will help you master the correct and safe performance of the cobra pose. If you do it yourself, carefully watch our video tutorial! Wrong practice can be useless and even dangerous to the body.

Step by step execution technique

Step 1

We lie down on the stomach, connect the feet, put the hands under the shoulders. We press the palms completely to the floor at the width of the shoulders or slightly wider.

Step 2

With an inhalation, we slowly begin to raise the chest, the arms remain bent at the elbows. Pull your shoulders back and down. The chest is maximally open.

ATTENTION! We do not rely on our hands, they only fix our position. Try to get up with your back muscles. This will allow the thoracic spine to work and save the lumbar vertebrae from strong compression.

Step 3

We make two respiratory cycles, as slowly as possible, and on the third breath we rise even higher, bending in the lower back and thoracic back.

Step 4

Now we straighten our arms, stretch the neck and crown of the head up, while directing the chin to the chest.

ATTENTION! We stretch the neck all the time, we try to lengthen it. The legs are still brought together, the knees and buttocks are tense.

Step 5

We do two more respiratory cycles, we continue to stretch the neck and crown back, we increase the deflection in the thoracic spine. The gaze is directed to the point between the eyebrows.

Step 6

We return to the starting position.

Step 7

Repeat the exercise five times with short breaks of 15 seconds.

ATTENTION! Movements should be calm and uniform, without accelerations and decelerations. Inhalation and exhalation are synchronous with the movement of the body.

Yoga Beginner Tips

• You need to master the cobra pose right away, because this is one of the fundamental poses in yoga, this is the basis for mastering deeper backbends.
• If you feel that the Cobra pose is not given to you yet, start with the Sphinx pose: leave your elbows on the floor, point the top of your head up. For people with a stiff spine, this will be best.
• And until your spine becomes flexible, do not allow a strong arch of the back.
• When you’re ready to move into the cobra pose, don’t put up with the discomfort, much less the pain in your lower back. Relax or exit the asana altogether.
• You can perform a simplified version of the cobra pose by bending your elbows. It is also suitable if you find it difficult to stand on straightened arms. Still strive for the perfect pose.
• Remember about the neck, it should not be relaxed at the moment of tilting the head back, do not pinch it. Strive to pull it back all the time! This both protects her and “turns on” the work of the thyroid gland.
• We do not raise the pubic bone from the floor.
• We do not press our shoulders to our ears, we pull them down.
• The chest is opened as much as possible. To do this, we take our shoulders and elbows back.

And remember the cobra! For maximum effect, you need to maintain a gentle curve in your spine. From the coccyx to the crown.

Have a great practice!